Bahrainis call for expulsion of Syrian ambassadors from Arab countries

Bahraini lawmakers and religious leaders have called for the expulsion of the Syrian ambassadors from all Arab and Islamic countries and for severing all ties with Damascus.

Citing the “need to put an end to the reported atrocities perpetrated against the Syrian people,” participants at a gathering held in Muharraq, Bahrain’s second largest city, said that Arab and Islamic countries “should not lapse into silence and should take action against the Syrian regime.”

“We at Al Asala value dearly the speech by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on Syria and his call to put an end to killings,” MP Abdul Halim Murad said.

Al Asla, the expression of Salafism in Bahrain, has been singularly vocal to garner support for Syrians engaged in protests against the Syrian regime.

Adel Hassan, a religious leader, charged that the Syrian authorities were guilty of attacking and killing their people and called for an end to their alleged atrocities.

Bahrain on Tuesday summoned its ambassador in Syria “for consultations.”

The move followed a similar withdrawal by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait of their top diplomats in Damascus to protest against the Syrian authorities.

Qatar was the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country to bring home its ambassador following a dramatic fallout with the Syrian regime.

In Turkey, Huriyet Daily News reported that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu received a chilly welcome in Damascus where he delivered a stern message to Syria’s President Bashar Al Assad.

According to the daily, only a deputy foreign minister greeted Davutoğlu at the airport upon his arrival.

Al Assad and Davutoğlu had three-hour talks between delegations from their countries, and then a one-to-one meeting that lasted another three hours, the daily said, quoting a Turkish diplomat.